Pregame: Red Wings @ Blue Jackets – 11/18

The Red Wings kick off a three-game road trip tonight in Columbus, before visiting Winnipeg and Toronto.

Detroit is coming off an embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday at home and will be without forward Pavel Datsyuk, who is back out with a groin injury. Datsyuk had originally returned from that injury on Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks but apparently aggravated it. Daniel Cleary will take his spot in the lineup.

Jimmy Howard gets the start in goal for the Wings.

Stupid stat of the day: Of the 29 times Detroit has played on November 18, only eight have been at home.

Game time is 7:00 PM on FSD.